Howl
by Riabbit
Summary: Dean, Sam and Castiel have somehow been sucked into the L4D2 verse. Writen for NaNoWriMo.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Frankly, the air stunk. The thick stench of death and decay was making it hard to breathe properly. Dean Winchester pressed a hand to his mouth and fought the urge to vomit. Blinking the sleep from his dark green eyes, he scanned the room he had woken up in. Loud yells rang through the air from somewhere nearby. Panic set it. He recognized nothing about his surroundings, this room was most definitely not the motel room he and his brother had fallen to sleep in the previous night.

"Sammy? Cas?" Sleepy mumbles from another room was the only reply he received. Dean rushed into the other room and found Sam asleep on one of the beds, his large feet dangling over the edge and his hands clenched around the handles of the duffel bag containing their weapons.

Allowing himself a small sigh of relief, Dean cautiously made his way over to his younger brother, patting his own pockets down as he walked. His pockets where still empty, sans for his wallet which contained a few notes and his IDs. Waking his brother was no real feat, as both of them had been trained from a young age to sleep lightly. Sam blinked tiredly as he took in his brother standing at the foot of the bed looking confused and distraught.

"Dean? What's up?" The elder Winchester merely shrugged and motioned for him to look around. Before either could say anything else, the yelling began again outside and gunshots now sung out. Suddenly there was a loud thumping on the door. On instinct both boys reached for their guns. By the time the door swung open to reveal a young man wearing a cap, standing shocked in the door way, both Sam and Dean had their guns poised and trained in his direction.

"Ho-lee shit guys! There are people here! They ain't zombies or shit! We got more survivors!" The boy in the door way seemed to unfreeze and rush forward, suddenly all smiles. Now even more confused, the brothers kept their guns high and pointed towards the stranger. Shortly after the Southerners entrance, two more people rushed inside, a dark skinned woman and a dark skinned, rather heavy set man, both puffing slightly, the female's leg was ripped and bleeding in places. Everyone stood warily, each person waiting for another to make the first move.

"Well hey there! Mah name's Ellis. 'Nd this 'ere lady is Rochelle 'nd this guy is Coach. Ya'll don't know how happy we are ta see others round here!" Silence followed the Southerners outburst and someone at the back of the room cleared their throat.

"Um, Dean..."

Everyone whirled around to face the new voice.

"Cas! What the hell man?" Dean rushed forward to meet with the newest addition to the room, still keeping his gun in the air while Sam lowered his slightly. Before anything else could be said everyone flinched as a door slammed shut and another set of heaving lungs was added to the group.

"Thanks for the help with that Charger guys. I really appreciate you guys running off while I was reloading."

"'Nd that one there is Nick. He's kind of an ass. Ignore him."

Silence reigned as both groups stood huddled at opposite sides of what the Winchesters learned was called a 'safe house'. The one called Ellis wandered over occasionally to relay their plans for making it to the next safe area. Dean merely grunted at the plan while Sam listened intently, his head nodding every so often. Rochelle scouted around the house for supplies, handing out ammo and the occasional machete as she walked by. Coach was deep in thought was he stood bent over a few pieces of paper that vaguely resembled a map, taking a break every so often to fish another snack bar or candy from his seemingly bottomless pockets. The man in the white suit, Nick, Dean recalled him being called, stood quietly in the corner, watching the three new people closely. A look of obvious distrust clear on his face. After an hour or two Rochelle gathered everyone together to go over their plans one last time before they all set out.

"So what are your names and how long have you boys been out here fighting?" Dean shuffled his feet before pushing himself up from the chair he had been sitting on.

"I'm Dean, this is my little brother Sam, and this... Uh, this is Castiel." Castiel and Sam both nodded respectively at their introductions.

"What do you mean by fighting? What's going on?" Sam questioned, slightly panicked at the woman's words. The other four looked around at each other, their confusion evident.

"Um, we're in the middle of a god damn zombie apocalypse. How could'ya not know that?" Nick smoothed the lapels of his blood stained jacket. It was going to be a long day.

They left once the provisions were dealt out and night had fallen. The seven of them walked outside cautiously, everyone's eyes skirting around their surroundings. A soft sobbing sound was heard coming from somewhere close by and Coach automatically mumbled a quick 'lights off'. Wandering blindly but purposefully, the makeshift team stuck close together and pressed forward. Dean switched his machete to his right hand and gripped the right arm of Castiel's trench coat, crushing the tan material in his fist.

"Are you alright Dean?" Castiel's voice came out soft and low. He didn't seem to mind that the fearless hunter was clutching his arm tightly or that said hunter was as skittish as ever. The elder Winchester ignored the question and kept his eyes trained on the surrounding streets, quickly assessing the small alleys between the houses, searching for the creator of the bone chilling sobs. Sam walked upfront beside Rochelle, silently following her every move, trying to determine exactly what sort of mess they had found themselves in this time. Theory after theory ran through his mind, each just as confusing as the one prior it.

"Sam wasn't it?" He nodded slightly in acknowledgment to the woman's inquiry. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly after seeming to change her mind. They rounded a corner and before he knew what was happening, Coach had him by the scruff of his neck and Rochelle pressed a slender finger to her lips with one hand and pointed silently in front of him with the other. A few feet in front of him sat a stick skinny young girl, crouched into a ball with her hands covering her face. Looking harder, he noticed her fingers were deformed and looked more like claws than anything. She wasn't human. She was one of those 'Special Infected' zombies that Ellis had told them about earlier. The zombie rocked back on her heels and let loose another depressing sob, a slight growl following. Rochelle mouthed a single word at him.

"Witch."

Despite his training, Sam's body froze as the Witch before him tilted her head towards him. Her sunken eyes seemed to glow a dull yellow, and patches of the skin on her face were rotten and falling away. He has dealt with a lot of things in his time as a hunter, but this was just wrong. And from what he had been told the whole 'Green Virus' had been a man-made thing. This wasn't even a supernatural screw up. Rochelle motioned for everyone to head back around the corner. They were going to have to find another path to get through. A loud yell ripped through the air and the sole woman of the group was slammed backwards as some large mass hit her.

"CHARGER'S GOT RO!" The new zombie had pushed the female directly into the Witch who began screaming and flailing her claw-like hands. Coach shoved Sam back and aimed his shotgun at the Charger, but before he could pull the trigger, the lopsided zombie was dead on the ground. The Witch continued screaming and moved away from its corpse. Rochelle made an attempt to scramble to her feet but the movement caught the Witch's attention and she turned, still screaming and attacked the human lying on the ground before her.

Ellis rushed forwards, pulling the baseball bat off of his back as he moved. Without so much as batting an eyelid, the Southerner brought the bat down hard on the zombie's skull. The Witch paused momentarily before resuming her attack on Rochelle. Ellis raised the bat again and this time when he brought it down on the Witch's head, patches of blood mattered hair were dislodged and the sickening crunching of bones breaking was heard over the combined screams of Rochelle and her attacker. By the third hit, a good portion of the zombie's brains were visible. Nick shoved past and pushed the hick aside. Quickly raising his pistol and unloading a clip into the offered grey matter.

With the Witch's death, the only sounds left were Rochelle's laboured breathing. Ignoring the fact that he was once again covered in blood, grey matter and all sorts of nasty stuff, Ellis dropped to his knees and began assessing the females' wounds.

"We shou'd get a move on guys. She ain't gon last long if we pansy foot it." The remainder of the group grunted in agreement. All except Castiel who quietly muttered something.

"I can heal her." Silence was once again dominant as his words had yet to sink in.

"And how exactly are you planning on doing that Trench coat?"

"I'm an Angel." Nick blinked once and promptly because doubling over in laughter.

"Nick, it ain't funny. He looks like 'e means it." The hick watched Castiel's face closely.

"He's not lying guys. But I don't want it. Someone shoot me and then you lot keep moving." Ellis flinched at Rochelle's words and began muttering quickly under his breath. Nick glared sceptically at Castiel, and Coach just watched on quietly.

"Just heal her Cas." The younger Winchester muttered. He knew he hardly knew the woman but is had grown fond of her during this short time. Castiel shook his head mutely.

"She refuses. I will not take away her free will."

"Guys, please." Her voice sounded tight and something inside of Dean snapped. Swapping his machete for a pistol, he raised it slowly and moved forward.

"I'll do it."

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 1


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean threw Coach a sideways glance.

"Do it boy." The blonde haired Winchester cocked his pistol and placed his finger on the trigger. Nick pulled the now crying hick away from Rochelle and held him tightly to his chest as sobs wracked his body. Everyone lowered their heads in respect and Dean aimed his pistol. Rochelle muttered a soft 'thank you' and he pulled the trigger. The light in her eyes dulled almost immediately and Castiel disappeared along with the female's life.

"We should get a move on. We've still got a ways to go before we reach the next safe room." Coach moved towards Rochelle's body and began taking the provisions and such that she was carrying, whispering a soft 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' as he worked. Ellis finally calmed and pushed himself out of the con man's hold. Nobody saw it coming and he pulled his arm back and punched Dean as hard as he could in the face.

"Asshole!"

No-one moved. Dean stood stock still as Ellis remained in front of his seething.

"Ellis, no." Castiel was back. The elder Winchester breathed out a small sigh of relief and lifted his hand to rub at his now throbbing jaw. The Southerner spun around to face the other, eye wide and confused.

"But, but chu were behind them!" Castiel ignored his statement and softly placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"It is okay. It was what she wanted." Ellis sniffled and nodded quietly at the others words.

"Where did you go Cas?" He should his head at Sam.

"We will discuss this later."

They walked in silence for the most part, the only real talking was when someone heard sometime or someone was attacked. Soon enough, they reached the next safe point. After piling a few of the heaviest items in the room up against the scratched red door, the majority of the group slid to the floor. Castiel remained standing and motioned for Sam and Dean to follow him into the adjoining room.

"Where did you go?" Sam gave Castiel little time to begin speaking as he began pacing, already thinking about their next exist strategy.

"Calm yourself Samuel. I simple escorted Miss Smith home and searched for an answer to out predicament." Sam's mouth rounded into a silent 'oh' and then returned to his pacing.

"So what did you find out?"

"She is not angry with you Dean. She asked for it remember." Dean let go of a breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding.

"Also, I conversed with my Brethren. They believe this situation to be the work of a Trickster."

To say that Dean was pissed would be an understatement. He was fuming. In his opinion, all Tricksters were douche bags. If they didn't figure out what the Trickster wanted they could all very well wind up dead. Figuring there was nothing they could do about it at the moment, the trio joined the others in the other room where they had originally left them.

"Pick a corner boys. We need to be getting some sleep. Getting an early start tomorrow." Nodding mutely, the Winchesters sat down quietly while Cas announced that he would take watch while everyone slept. Coach looked at him gratefully while Nick scoffed and mumbled something about sleeping in the other room, dragging Ellis with him as he walked away.

Everyone slept fitfully that night, the constant tossing and turning of bodies kept Sam awake for a fair amount of time. He knew that Castiel knew he was awake, but he was grateful to the Angel for ignoring him and quietly staring out of bars on the second red door marked exit. He lay there quietly, trying to block out the sounds filtering in from outside. Feet were being dragged slowly across the cement beyond the door and gurgling groans accompanied the occasional screech of pain. By the time Sam fell asleep day light was beginning to lighten the dark area.

The group woke with a start when a loud explosion echoed throughout the air. Nick and Ellis came bursting into the room with their guns already loaded and in the air.

"What the hell what that!" The con man looked absolutely livid, eyes zeroing in on Castiel standing mutely by the exit door.

"You were supposed to be keeping watch!" Castiel flicked his eyes up to meet Nick's.

"I kept watch as I said I would. None of you have come to any harm have you not?" Mouth flailing uselessly, Nick averted his eyes and mumbled something in Ellis's ear.

"What was that explosion?"

"Ah, that. Forgive me but there was a large creature that looked as if it had consumed far too many muscle enhancing pellets."

"Do you mean steroids?" Castiel nodded. The survivors jaws seemed to drop simultaneously and no-one said anything for several minutes. Ellis seemed to be the first to compose himself and voice his opinion on the matter.

"Dude! He took out a fricking Tank. On his own. Without even leaving the safe room!" Castiel cocked his head to the left slightly.

"Is that not good?"

"It's impossible. What gun were you using?" Nick looked around quickly but saw no guns anywhere even close to Castiel that would have been able to take out a Tank with such a loud bang. He rushed to the door and peered out into the street. A whole section of the street had been practically levelled.

A low whistle sounded from Ellis as he walked up behind the con man and looked out at the damage.

"Guess 'e really is an Angel then. Shit man." Coach shrugged and set about restocking his ammo from the pile he had found in a box when they had first arrived in the safe room. Nick eventually tugged Ellis away from the door when Dean walked over to speak to Castiel.

"At least your mojo's still intact." Castiel nodded in agreement and continued to look out the door. Zombies were beginning to move into the now flattened neighbourhood. Once everyone was restocked, they slowly made their way outside. The place was now crawling with infected. Coach and Ellis picked a few off from a distance with their guns while everyone else opted for some form of melee weapon.

Dean assessed the group from his position at the back. Sam stuck close to Coach, the katana Ellis had pushed into his hand was held steadily in front of him. Ellis appeared to have glued himself to Nick's side as the con man tossed the baseball bat he had found from hand to hand. The elder Winchester glanced at Castiel who was now standing close by. He fought the urge to laugh at the picture of the Angel wielding a skillet because he wanted to help in the skirmish without endangering everyone's lives.

"Castiel, do you think you would be able to scout out a safe route for use to take? I can hear another Witch." Dean flinched, he hadn't even noticed Coach drop to the back of the group. Cas nodded and disappeared without another word.

Less than a minute later the Angel appeared again. Coach gave him a small nod as he took position at the lead of the group. Castiel led them through the flattened area, the others following warily, silently waiting for something bad to happen. As soon as they made it to a section of the neighbourhood that was still standing, Dean noticed several cars that had alarm lights on. Everyone stood clear away from the cars and Dean noticed Coach swapping his gun for the night stick hanging off of his bag. Only Ellis remained with his gun held high and ready. It wasn't until Sam tripped and fell onto one of the cars with blinking lights that Dean figured out what they were preparing for.

The alarm pierced through the air and a deafening roar sounded. They were going to have to fight a horde. Dean grabbed the sleeve of Sams' shirt and yanked him to his feet, shoving the katana back into his hands.

"Great going Sasquatch."

"Jerk."

"Bitch." The brothers grinned at each other and turned to face the oncoming horde. Ellis was torn between taking the zombies out at a distance with his gun, or grabbing the melee weapon strapped to his back and waiting for the monsters to reach him. He wasn't given much of a choice though, when Coach was grabbed by something long, slimy and putrid.

"SMOKER'S GOT ME!" A few shots from Ellis, straight into the zombies' head and Coach was back on his feet pulling the things tongue off of himself.

Everyone held their breath as they ran through the cloud of green smoke that had erupted from the zombies corpse. They pushed their way forward, Castiel still at the front, occasionally giving a zombie and hard thwack on the head with his skillet. When the number of zombie attacking lessened, the ground wandered into the closest house in search of more provisions. Coach was ecstatic when they found a small pile of non-perishable food items stacked in one of the houses. His victory, however, was rather short lived as when he reached down to grab them growling began.

"Don't even think 'bout it old man." A gun cocked from somewhere behind them and everyone froze.

Slowly, everyone turned around. All hands, sans Castiels', moved quickly to their weapons. Before them stood a small blonde girl sitting on the back of one very large, angry looking canine. Held tightly in the girls hands was a loaded rifle, her finger resting lightly on its trigger.

"What do ya'll think you're doin' taking my food." The dog growled again and Coach moved back slowly.

"We apologise Miss. We were not aware that there was another person out here." Castiel took a step forwards and the pair before him turned their attentions to him.

"Dean, she is human. We have nothing to fear from her." The group lowered their weapons and Cas placed his hand on the dogs head. Immediately the animal calmed.

"We mean you no harm child. What is your name?" The girl looked up at Castiel's face. A small frown tugging at her lips.

"Um, it's Harrold. Harrold Wilkins. 'Nd this is Kain."

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 2


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harrold tapped Kain twice on the head and the large dog lay down on its stomach and let her off. Once the girl had her feet planted firmly on the wooden floor boards, the animal rose again, allowing Harrold to sift through the bags she had strapped to his sides. She swapped her rifle for two hand held pistols and turned to face the group once again. Giving everyone a quick once over, she turned to face Castiel, pistols pointed steadily at his chest.

"You. Why're you different from everyone else? Cas looked her straight in the eye and shifted before he began to speak.

"I am Castiel. And I am an Angel of the Lord." The blonde girl lowered her weapons slightly and tilted her head, confused.

"You're the second person to say that to me today."

Castiel was silent for a minute or so before he made his was over to Dean, talking as he moved.

"I need to go, I will come straight back. Harrold, what did this person look like?"

"Uh, he was about your height, brown hair, I can't remember." Cas smiled and gave her a quick pat on the head. When she turned to look at him he was gone.

"Does he do that often?"

"You get used to it kid." Dean laughed inwardly, he knew Cas's disappearing acts all too well. Harrold blinked a couple of times and looked down at the guns still in her hands. A quick flick of her wrist and Kain was by her side once again the rifle she had been wielding before in his mouth.

Ellis walked towards the girl cautiously, tugging his hat from his head as he moved.

"Harrold?" The girl regarded him suspiciously, everyone else watching on silently, wondering what the boy was thinking.

"Ya'll don't remember me do you. I worked in the garage your mam gave birth to ya in." Harrold's eyes widened in surprise.

"You knew my mam?" Ellis smiled widely.

"Sure did sweetheart. Helped name ya to." Without warning Harrold pulled her arm back and punched the older hick in the face.

"Bastard. Harrold's a guy's name." Ellis grinned again.

"Suits ya jus' fine little lady."

The two Southerners chatted quietly in a corner while Sam spoke to Nick and Dean helped Coach with restocking the bags. As soon as the bags the restocked Coach signalled that they were going to continue moving on.

"But what about Castiel?" Harrold paused mid-sentence, worry evident on her features. Dean chuckled and patted her on the back as he handed her a new bag.

"Don't worry about it kiddo. He'll find us. He always does." The girl smiled at Dean's words and grinned. They left the house quietly, guns poised and ready. They were no longer following Castiels path so they were cautious about ever step they took and every corner they turned.

Ellis quickly began to chatter mindlessly, stories about some accident prone guy called Keith seemed to be the only thing that ever came out of his mouth. Occasionally someone would become fed up with the incessant chatter and attempt to politely get the older hick to shut his mouth. But it never lasted long. There was always something else that reminded him of dear old Keith. At times the group just let him talk. The babbling made the situation seem less dire. It stopped them from dwelling on the fact that they could die at any moment out. Dean once again surveyed the team from behind. Harrold sat strong atop Kain. Her small hands steady and knowing. She reminded him of himself as a child.

He thought back to the nights when he would sit up late at night watching over Sammy as he slept, jumping at every small noise, waiting for his father to come home. A small cough from somewhere up at the front broke Dean out of his thoughts. Ellis once again stood close to Nick, most likely chatting the poor con man's ear off. Coach walked silently at the head of the group, machete in hand with Sam lagging a small ways behind him, a sniper rifle trained over the large man's shoulder, taking out straggling zombies as they wandered into their path.

It wasn't until they had made it into the next safe house that Cas showed up again. Dean had been keeping watch for that night when footsteps sounded from outside the safe house. Poking the very tip of his shot gun through the metallic bars, Dean steadied his heart beat and waited. Just as his finger was moving towards the trigger, Castiel stepped into view. Immediately lowering his gun, the elder Winchester withdrew the metal bar keeping the red door shut and opened it for the other. Castiel walked inside quietly and Dean shut the door and replaced the metal bar.

"What did you find out?" Cas shook his head and tapped Dean lightly on the forehead with two fingers.

"Sleep. We will talk about this in the morning."

The makeshift group woke as the suns' rays filtered through the dirt encrusted windows, warming the safe house up ever so slightly. Sam shifted slightly, a small pained gasp bubbling forth as the muscles in his back tensed in ways they probably shouldn't.

"Sam? Is something the matter? You look pained." Cas was slowly catching on that human bodies functioned differently to how his vessel did whilst he occupied it. Sam grunted noncommittally and slowly pushed himself to his feet, wincing every so often.

"It's nothing I can't walk off Cas." Castiel watched him for another few seconds before resuming his silent stance beside the red door.

Ellis began talking almost less than half a second after he had woken. Most sighed quietly to themselves while Harrold encouraged it, the silence not settling well with her. Coach noticed Ellis mothering over the young girl whenever he was given the chance. The only time he really stopped worrying about her was when she and Kain walked alongside Dean, at that point the male hick would turn his attention straight back to Nick. Everyone was abruptly broken out of their morning musings, when Castiel spoke up.

"Dean, Sam. May we speak in private before we make our way outside?"

The Winchesters followed Castiel into the adjoining room and looked at the Angel expectantly. There was a brief moment of silence before Cas launched into his explanation as to what took him so long and then what he had found out.

"It is a Trickster." The boys confused looks prompted the other to begin explaining.

"Tricksters are immortal demi-gods. They can create anything out of thin air and tend to carry out deadly pranks on the high and mighty. They can however be killed by being impaled on a stake covered in the blood of its victim." The brothers nodded mutely.

"So this isn't real? These people, this place, none of this really exists?"

"I am afraid not Sam. But the danger is real. You may die if we do not find a way to escape."

A knock sounded from the doorway. Castiel bowed his head silently and walked out of the room. Sam turned towards the door and saw Coach standing in the door jam.

"We need to get moving boys. Grab some more ammo and shake a leg." Without waiting for a response the man turned on his heel and headed back over to the others. Dean watched as his brother scrambled around the room looking for anything that could help them later on. Either with killing zombies or going after the Trickster. It didn't take long for everyone to gather around the safe house's back door. Everyone waited for Coach to give the all clear, Ellis shifting his weight from foot to foot, anxious to get outside and start shooting.

The second they were outside they took their usual formation. Coach and Sam up front, Nick and Ellis a few meters behind and slightly to the right, Castiel stood about the same place but more to the left, and Dean, Harrold and Kain brought up the rear. Despite having some sort of history with Ellis, Harrold had opted to attach herself to Dean's side, Kain also seeming to favour the elder Winchester. Dean wasn't all that fussed about it. The girl was good with a gun, despite only being 10 years old. Though there were times when she had been grabbed from behind by a Smoker and Dean had no choice but to break off from the group and bring her back.

By the time they were a few block away from the next safe room, Coach was puffing heavily. His hand occasionally slipping into his bag and pulling out another candy bar. Harrold shook her head judgmentally, speaking loudly to Dean.

"He's gon' get sick eating all that." Nick snickered softly from his spot near Ellis. They walked in silence after that. Eventually Sam saw the tell tale read door of the safe room and ran towards it.

"Guys! Come on!" He wasn't watching where he was going so he never saw the giant rounded zombie that had meandered on the street.

"BOOMER!" The brown haired Winchester turned just in time to collide with the jiggling zombie and ricochet right back off of it.

Before anyone could do anything the zombie wobbled and promptly emptied it stomach contents onto the haphazardly sprawled Winchester. Nick shot the Boomer hurriedly. Other zombies began rushing in, spilling onto the street, all heading towards Sam. The first wave of zombies reached him before he could get to his feet, and the bile that now covered him made it increasingly hard to grip his gun. Dropping the now useless weapon, Sam pulled his machete off of his bag and defended himself the best he could while the others mowed the zombies down in an attempt to reach him. Eventually Sam gave up on fighting and simply ducked and bolted for the safe room. He could hear Nick laughing as the other's followed his example. Sam wiped at the bile still dripping from his hair, rubbing it on the con man's jacket as he walked by.

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The laughing died down fairly quick as Kain whimpered, crouching to the ground in an attempt to hide himself. Ellis pressed a single finger to his lips. A heavy tension fast replaced the light mood as everyone paused to listen.

"Hunter." A soft growling could be heard moving around beyond the safe room door. Harrold flinched violently, scurrying towards Dean and burying her face in his stomach. Placing a reassuring hand on her head, Dean looked around for an explanation. None came. Nick pulled Coach into the far corner of the safe room and began whispering. Coach's face betraying just how worried he really was. Castiel watched them discuss the situation quietly, eyes unblinking and position firm, as he stood awkwardly by the pile of furniture now blocking the door they had entered by. Sam moved closer and sat down beside where his brother and Harrold stood.

"Hey Harrold, wanna play a game?" She pulled her head away from Dean's stomach and glared impressively in the other Winchester's direction.

"Hey wuss, ya'll wanna shut yer mouth? Ya scream like a chick." Dean chuckled at his brother's indignant expression.

"Kid's got a point little Bro. Remember, Old man Murdoch did go after you." Sam stuck his tongue out and Harrold giggled at the exchange. The discussion in the far corner had moved away from whispers and was close to becoming a yelling match. Dean's attention was pulled away from the fighting pair as Ellis plopped down beside him.

"Dean, tell us a story." He grinned and slid to the ground, pulling the young girl into his lap.

"Okay okay. Let me think."

Sam smiled as he listened to his older brother recount a few of their hunting jobs to the two hicks. He would interject every so often, correcting facts or even just reminding Dean exactly how they found themselves in the middle of the entire mess in the first place. He noticed Castiel watching raptly, a small half smile in place, having long since turned his attentions away from the other two men. Looking around the room for Kain, he found the Great Dane whimpering in another corner of the room, his head trained towards the growling sound that could still be heard from outside. Tapping the floor beside his knee, Sam gained the animal's attention and patted his lap.

Before he even had the chance to blink, Sam found himself with a lap full of shivering Great Dane. About half way through the third or fourth story Harrold began nodding off and Ellis had already fallen asleep, his head now pressed against Dean's left shoulder, soft snores falling from his mouth. By now the others had ceased fighting and both men were listening intently to the stories being told. When the story ended Nick wandered over to rouse Ellis. His attempts at waking the male were futile and resulted in Nick cradling his now bruising jaw and the hick snuggling himself into Dean's side. Harrold gave the elder Winchester and quick hug and pushed herself out of his lap, petting Kain on the head and moving to fall asleep underneath the table on the opposite side of the room. The dog following almost immediately.

Not seeing any possibly way to move the hick sleeping against his side without copping another fist to the face, Dean settled back against the wall, getting ready to let sleep over take him. Sam stood and gathered his gun, moving closer to the back door, fully planning on keeping watch that night. Coach and Nick settled down for the night in their own respective spots and Coach quickly began his loud snoring. As everyone fell asleep, Sam watched Castiel expectantly, waiting for a clue as to what said Angel would do next.

"I must leave. There is business I must attend to at home." Sam nodded knowingly and turned to watch the street outside through the steel bars on the door.

The night passed by uneventfully, though the growling sound was earlier was constantly present, this zombie was persistent, Sam would give it that much. Occasionally the growls would turn into screams and Sam noticed Harrold flinching in her sleep, pressing herself closer to the wall behind her back, Kain shuffling each time she moved. At some point during the night, Ellis had moved from his position beside Dean, now sitting in his lap snuggling into his bodily warmth. Sam made a mental note to tease his brother about that the following day. Nick hardly moved and inch in his sleep. And Coach's snoring was another constant sound throughout the night. Just as day break was dawning, Castiel made his return. His first words back were orders for Sam to get some sleep.

Dean woke with a start as something in his lap wiggled. Instinct kicked in and before he knew what was happening, whatever had been wiggling was now being straddled on the ground with a loaded rifle pointed in its direction. Beneath him was a wide eyed Ellis, all traces of sleep now gone from his system. A small tug on his jacket caught his attention.

"Did you 'nd Ellis have a fight?" Harrold stared disapprovingly at the gun Dean held in his hands.

"You can't shoot him ya'know. He's a friend of mam's. She wouldn't be happy if ya'll hurt him." The gun was lowered and Dean backed off, holding out a hand to help the younger male up.

"Sorry about that dude. I'm kinda jumpy in the mornings." Ellis muttered a quick 's'all right man' before hurrying off to check over his weapons and restock his ammo. The team once again gathered at the red door, waiting for someone to spout some form of a plan on how to get past the Hunter. They all stood awkwardly for several minutes before Castiel stepped forward.

"Would you like me to draw it out where you may see it?" Before anyone could respond the Angel opened the door and took several steps out into the open. Harrold hid herself behind Dean and Kain began to growl loudly. All of a sudden they heard another loud scream and a blur of blue and brown collided with Castiel, knocking him to the ground. The zombie got a few good slashes of its claws in by the time Nick ran forward and shot it in the head with his shot gun.

The Hunter's now lifeless corpse was kicked away from Castiel as Nick pulled him to his feet.

"That must hurt somethin' fierce." Ellis winced at the sight of the others wounds, his hands moving to clutch at his own stomach. Castiel shrugged and slowly but surely, the wounds began to disappear. Soon enough the only way one could have known he had been attacked was by the state of his shirt. The Angel glanced down and sighed.

"I was beginning to like that shirt." Harrold ran to Castiel and hugged him around his waist tightly. He froze not knowing how to react. Sam let out a small bark of laughter as the rest of the group headed out onto the street.

The group moved almost silently through the streets, the only zombies crossing their paths were easily taken out at a distance. By the time they had reached the next safe room no one had been injured and they still had the majority of their ammo. It had only been a few hours since they had left the previous safe room, and according to the maps somewhere in the midst of Ellis's bag, they could make it to the next one before night fall. Shuffling through quickly, the group restocked on what ammo they needed and began their trek towards the next designated area.

Harrold once again sat atop of Kain, her back curved slightly and gun held tight in her hands, a chipped red crow bar hanging from one of the pockets of her dirty blue overalls. The saddle bags hanging from Kain's back were full to the brim with ammo and a few cans of food. The rest of the canned provisions had been divided equally throughout the group, so that each person was now carrying their own share of the rations. Castiel however carried no food, but held the bag with all the excess ammo that the others were unable to squeeze into their own bags. Aside from the occasional take down of a Tank of a Witch, all the Angel really had to was make sure that the ammo bag remained full.

They had been walking for awhile when Castiel noticed a funny feeling beginning to grow in his gut. Kain stopped abruptly, turned, and promptly began growling at Cas. Dean turned to see what all the fuss was about but could find Castiel nowhere in sight, the bag he had been carrying lay alone on the ground. All he saw was a wide eyed, unblinking Harrold and her dog. Neither was moving and Kain continued his growling.

"He disappeared again."

"He's done that before kiddo." Harrold pulled a face and moved her gaze to lock with Deans'.

"Not like this he hasn't. 'E looked confused. Like he didn't know what was goin' on." The elder Winchester shrugged.

"He'll be back." Even though it was never said, Harrold could tell, Dean didn't know.

Ellis dropped back and retrieved the ammo bag that had been dropped during Castiel's sudden disappearance, quickly resuming his spot beside Nick, opting the wield the fire axe that he had picked up earlier, rather than the gun he had been sporting all morning. It wasn't until they rounded the next corner that they were met with their first real problem for the day. Drunken laughing echoed through the street, bouncing off of the buildings and reverberating around in the newly acquired hollows littered throughout the area. Ellis practically froze on the spot. He could hear the Jockey. And he didn't like it. They were vile zombies. With their hunched backs and warped spines, the way they managed to evade every bullet shot at it as it jumped around, and the way they all but humped your head as they pulled you in whatever direction they chose. It was just plain wrong.

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 4


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They wandered into the street a little further, everyone just as tense as they would have been had they been facing something like a Witch. The inebriated giggling seemed to dissipate somewhat as they moved forward and soon enough it stopped altogether. Dean heard shuffling behind where he stood and turned to investigate. Upon turning, he suddenly found himself with a face full of zombie crotch. The stench of decaying flesh was nearly unbearable and Dean refused to open his mouth for fear of inhaling even more of the disgusting smell now invading his nostrils. Several guttural sounds erupted from the base of his throat as the Jockey attempted to pull him in multiple directions all at once.

Dean had no idea what was going on. The urge to breathe was becoming harder to ignore with each second that passed. He couldn't hear a thing over the obnoxious giggling of the zombie that was all but humping his face. His hand scrabbled desperately trying to push the offending thing off but now the Jockey had his head locked in a tight grip. Suddenly the grip slackened and the zombie fell to the ground, several bullet holes now adorning his balding had. Feeling somewhat light headed and a little woozy from lack of clean oxygen, Dean collapsed forwards, someone catching him by the arm before he face planted onto the dirt encrusted cement. It seems the Angel was back.

Castiel hoisted Dean's near unconscious body up and practically threw him over his shoulder.

"Geez man, I can still walk." He felt the other tense before beginning a rather fast paced walk.

"It is too late. The ground has begun shaking. We do not have much time. I either carry you or I 'zap' you to the next safe room. I picked the one I thought you would appreciate more." Dean paused.

"Coach! There's a Tank on the way!"

"Can't Castiel take care of it?"

"Not while we're out here with him, it would kill us too." Panic was clear in Coach's voice as he began shouting orders. By the time the ground began to shake obviously, everyone was standing their ground with their guns pointed in the direction Castiel had said the beast was approaching from.

The Tank rounded the corner, its massive body moved quickly for something of its size, knuckles scraping along the ground as it gained on them. Its tiny eyes seemed riveted solely on them, ignoring everything else in its path. They stood firm and released a steady hail of bullets once the zombie was in shooting range. Ellis quickly remembered the Molotov cocktail that was strapped to his leg. He lit the fuse hurriedly and hurled the bomb towards the Tank. It hit the beast square in the face. The zombie roared deafeningly and slammed it gigantic fists into the ground beneath it. Raising a piece of the now broken cement above its head, the monster let loose another roar and flung the rubble at the group.

Backing up quickly, they continued shooting at the still flaming Tank, some pausing to reload or swap their guns every so often. They kept a constant distance between themselves and the oncoming Special Infected. Bits of blackened and burnt skin fell away from the Tank and eventually it stopped in its tracks and keeled over, roaring in pain as it went down. The second the beast hit the ground the team began moving forward once again. As the stepped around the now immobile Tank, a loud screech was heard before a stomach churning gagging sound and the group saw a wad of bright acidic green come flying towards them.

"GOO INBOUND! Guys! Spitter alert."

As the green wad hit the ground close to Castiel's feet, it began bubbling and spreading outwards.

"Guys, GET OUT OF THE ACID!" The Angel scrambled away from the mess, Dean now held tightly in his arms. A soft squealing sound soon attracted their attention and Harrold raised her Desert Eagle and aimed in the noises direction. Soon enough the zombie making the sounds stepped, not only into view but also into the young girls shooting range. Steadying herself, Harrold unloaded several bullets into the zombie and took a step back at the long necked Special Infected doubled over and another, albeit smaller, pile of gooey acid began to form around the dead zombies body.

"Well gosh Nick. There goes another one of yer ex gal-friends."

Everyone laughed at Ellis' comment and the con man punched him lightly in the arm. Shifting Dean onto his back, Castiel suggested that they all keep moving before any more deadly surprises felt the need to make themselves known. The remainder of the trip to the next safe house was fairly easy, and the managed to evade most of the Special Infected they passed, except for when Nick was unfortunate enough to be grabbed around the throat by a Smoker. As they walked Ellis once again began to recount more Keith stories. They made it through the next red metal door just as the sun was setting.

The new safe house was a low set, two story building, containing several bedrooms and a fully stocked pantry. Multiple first aid kits lined the cabinets within the bathroom and Sam failed to contain his happiness when Coach tested the taps and a steady stream of water flowed from the faucet. Nick rifled through several draws for ammo before Castiel cleared his throat and pointed silently to the pile of boxes beneath one of the beds, clearly marked 'AMMO'. It wasn't long before the group was all gathered together in the lounge area of the house. Standing awkwardly, in what could somewhat resemble a circle, they remained silent, waiting for someone to say something.

"There's only four beds guys." At just about the same time, everyone all but yell 'dibs on my own!' causing Harrold to laugh out loud.

"Ya'll guys are idiots. People are gon' be sharing beds tonight." Several minutes of arguing swiftly followed the small girl's observation. Quickly growing fed up with the men squabbling, Harrold tugged lightly on Castiel's trench coat.

"Tell 'em what to do Angel guy." Cas smiled at the child's words but shook his head.

"They will figure it out eventually." Annoyed, Harrold pouted and walked over to Ellis, kicking him in the shins when she was close enough.

"Shut up. Yer sleeping with Nick. Coach 'nd I get our own. 'Nd Dean 'nd Samantha get the last bed."

As everyone was walking off to settle down for the night, Kain pawed at Nick's leg, whimpered and turned to face the door.

"What do you want you stupid mutt?" The dog whimpered again, jumping up on the con man, a steady stream of urine now beginning to stain the previously white suit. Nick pushed the dog to the floor and stomped towards the back door, yanking the metal bar from its place and all but kicking the door open.

"Damn it! I've walked through sewers, I've been spat on, I've been covered in Boomer bile, I've trekked through swamps, and I've bled on this bloody suit. I draw the line at getting pissed on by some mangy mutt. The do-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a thick slimy Smoker's tongue wound itself around his torso and dragged him backwards. Ellis was the first to his feet, gun in one hand machete in another, aiming said gun in the direction of the Smoker and he raced towards Nick. Who was now dangling several feet about the ground, his feet kicking wildly as he thrashed in the zombies hold. A few shots later, the zombie erupted in a plume of green smoke the grip of its tongue slackening, leaving the con man to fall unceremoniously to the ground, gasping heavily for another breath.

Ellis dragged him back inside quickly and Sam made sure that the door was shut properly and that the bar was back in place once again. As they re-entered the room, Kain ran and hid under one of the beds, whimpering softly. Nick glared in the dog's direction but allowed himself to be pulled away by the older hick. Both men trudging up the stairs, the sole thought of getting some sleep on their minds. Coach bade the others a quick good night and followed the other two up the stairwell. Castiel took his his spot close the the exit. Once again taking the position of watch man as he didn't sleep. Dean gave Harrold a quick noogie before dragging his brother towards the largest available been on their level.

Harrold opened her mouth and yawned loudly then patted her denim clad thigh, trying to get her pet's attention as she moved into the adjoining room where she would be sleeping, motioning for Kain to join her when he sat at the foot of the bed watching her expectantly. The dog jumped up quickly, seemingly over his distress at the white suited con man's outburst to his accident, promptly joining his mistress on the lumpy mattress. After shifting numerous times, in a futile attempt at finding a comfortable position on the mattress with her dog, the exhausted girl lay entirely still and listened to the brother's talking in the next room.

"Dude. If I wake up with you spooning me, I will kill you." Sam scoffed at his brothers words and flopped down onto the mattress, feet dangling off the edge as usual.

"Hey Sasquatch, move over or you can sleep on the floor." Sam grunted and begrudgingly shifted more towards the edge of the bed. Dean settled himself down beside him, both males choosing to remain above the confines of the ratty looking bed covers.

"When do you think we'll be able to get back home?" Sam lifted his head to look at his brother as he lay silent for another minute or so.

"Who knows Sammy. Until we figure out exactly what this Trickster wants I guess."

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 5


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Harrold slept fitfully, often finding herself being pawed awake by her drowsy looking Great Dane. She heard footsteps thudding through the room beside where she lay and the soft clicking of a door being shut told her that someone had gotten up to use the bathroom. Sliding from the bed, the young girl padded her way into the adjoining room and saw that it had been Sam who had gotten up. Crawling into his side of the bed, Harrold slid up close to the now softly snoring Dean, practically latching herself to his sleeping form. Vaguely, she heard Sam reentering the room only to pause and then turn to head into the one that she had began in that night.

Sleep quickly overtook the ten year old, this time with less interruptions. Kain remained on the other bed, choosing to drape himself over the younger Winchester when he flopped onto the bed, having jostled the dog awake. Castiel stood at the back door, as silent as ever, only shifting occasionally to straighten out the crinkled lapels of his tan trench coat. A clump of zombies began gathering aimlessly in the streets surrounding the safe house, in what seemed to be the makings of a possible horde. Several special infected waited somewhere in the midst of it all. Everyone slept somewhat peacefully, blissfully unaware of what dangers would befall them as the ventured outside the following day.

Ellis woke with a start. His body sweating and shaking, unable to draw a proper breath. All the movement woke the con man beside him. The other man noticing the other distress, his voice automatically settling into a more soothing tone and he attempted to calm Ellis.

"It's all right Overalls. It was just a dream. You're alright." The Southerner's shivering seemed to lessen considerably and Nick did the only think he could think to do. He sat up with his back pressed against the head board of the bed and pulled the other into his lap, rocking him as one would a small child.

"What happened Ellis?" The younger hiccuped and drew in a shuddery breath. He couldn't remember what the dream had been about, but he knew one thing. It scared him.

It didn't take long to calm the hick down, but Ellis remained in Nick's lap long afterwards, only moving away once they heard movement coming from the lower level of the safe house. Both men slid from the bed and wandered down the stairs. A still half asleep Dean sat slumped over in one of the chairs surrounding the table in the kitchen, while his more so awake little brother stood against the counter, a half eaten can of beans in his hand and a spoon in the other.

evacuation area. Though nobody said anything, it was still blatantly obvious that no-one really expected CEDA to still be in the area. They were all prepared to have to make countless more safe house stops before reaching the next evac station.

"Beans are evil." Ellis snickered at Dean's groggy outburst about his brother's breakfast. Turning his head slightly, the elder Winchester then addressed Ellis.

"Lets see if you're still laughing when you're standing down wind from him when those beans kick in.

Eventually everyone made their way into the kitchen and soon enough everyone held some kind of canned food in their hands, though only Sam was brave enough to eat the can of baked beans. After breakfast everyone gave their supplies another once over before deciding that it was time to move on to the next designated area. A quick look over of the maps let them know that they only needed to stop at a few more safe rooms before they made it to a Civil Emergency and Defence Agency evacuation area. Though nobody said anything, it was still blatantly obvious that no-one really expected CEDA to still be in the area. They were all prepared to have to make countless more safe house stops before reaching the next evac station.

They took down a considerable amount of infected before any of them deemed it safe to remove the door stop and leave the safety of the house. Those who wielded fire arms reloaded their guns and grabbed some more ammunition before following the remained of the group outside and onto the street. Coach had found a chainsaw left in one of the rooms, still containing a three quarters full tank of fuel. Once he managed to get the machine going, small groups of zombies began screeching and running towards the engines' noises. The chainsaw purred loudly as it cut through the decaying bodies surrounding it. Kain barked along happily with the loud noise, pouncing on stray zombies excitedly as the group moved down the street.

Several streets later the chainsaw finally sputtered pathetically in Coach's hands, the man discarded the now useless piece of machinery onto the side of the footpath. With the death of the chainsaw, Kain quietened down, making as much noise as any animal would when in his current position at the center of the zombie apocalypse. It seemed as thought the Special Infected were waiting for the chainsaw to give out, because at least half a minutes later, Ellis found himself being pulled backwards, a thick tongue constricting around his body. He struggled in vain to reach the knife in his pocket, no longer expecting another to help him as he heard the tell tale screech of a Hunter.

Somehow the male Southerner managed to free his right hand enough to reach into the pocket of his 'tied at the waist' overalls and retrieve his knife. A quick jab was all it took to make the zombie howl in pain and release its hold enough for Ellis to break free unaided. Quickly cocking his gun, he pivoted on the balls of his feet and fired three shots into the Smokers head. The Special Infected exploding into a cloud of dark green smoke. Looking around, Ellis saw Harrold laying on the ground immobile, the Hunter's corpse less than a foot away.

Panicking, he ran towards the girl, ignoring the others. Sam caught him before he reached her.

"Ellis, calm down. She's alright. We killed it before it got to her." Ellis fought against Sam's hold.

"Then why is she on the ground? Why ain't she movin'?"

"She passed out Overalls. And we're not going to find out why until she comes to. So calm down." Dean stepped forward and scooped Harrolds' limp body into his arms. Castiel gathered up the weapons that Dean had been forced to discard. Making sure that the machete clipped to his bag was ready, in case he needed to grab it in a hurry.

They hurried towards the next safe house, Castiel taking over Dean's position in their makeshift formation. Harrold still out cold. The male hick began fretting over everything and not a single zombie was left standing once he set his eyes on it. Ellis also managed to take out quite a few Boomer's and a Jockey with limited bullets. Sticking close to Dean and Harrold, the Southerner refused to let anything that wasn't human, aside from Kain and Cas, within shooting range of the pair. They moved in near total silence, the only sounds were their footsteps and the shots fired from Ellis' machine gun.

They made it to the safe room in what Coach called 'record timing'. As they were barricading the entrance through which they had passed, Harrold began to stir. The first sound erupting from her throat was an earsplitting scream. Ellis pulled her into a tight hug. Kain wandered over timidly and nuzzled at Harrold's leg. Not gaining a reaction, the dog moved to clamp it's teeth onto the sleeve of Sam's jacket, dragging him slightly to the side. Kain moved to the other side of the room, but as Sam moved to follow he felt his shoe press and sink into some form of slippery muck.

"That was dog crap wasn't it."

Harrold's head shot up and her usual laugh bubbled forth. The tension in the room faded and Ellis chose that time to speak up and get some questions answered.

"Why are you so afraid of Hunters?" The girl sucked in an audible breath and held it for a few second before releasing it faintly.

"I watched mah dad get eaten alive by one. At the beginnin' of the apocalypse. The hooded bastard jumped 'im 'nd torn 'im open like a kid tearin' into a gift wrapped box at Christmas." Sam ignored his dog poop covered shoe and pulled Harrold into an awkward side hug.

"Get offa me Samantha."

As the tension dissipated from within the room, Kain began jumping atop people and toppling to the ground with them. Once that became boring, the canine bounded from window to window giving each a sloppy lick as he reached them. As he lost interest in that, he moved on to licking basically anything else he could reach. Castiel disappeared once again without warning, having only made it about half way through his sentence about his confusion over Kain's erratic behavior. Sam merely shrugged it off as 'some kind of Angel thing', while Dean became increasingly annoyed at the other's inability to let them know what he was doing.

As night time fell the group found themselves sitting in a loose circle on the floor of the safe room. Swapping meaningless stories of past events. Coach spoke a lot about his days as a football player, while Ellis retold a few more Keith stories, Nick gave them all a brief insight into the life of a con man, thankfully omitting a few facts for Harrold's sake. The young girl spoke about her life in Savanna and about her father being a police officer. The Winchester's separately recounted the events that had lead them to hunting demons and other supernatural phenomenons. The all took turn voicing their opinions of what Castiel's story might be. Everyone obviously wondering what had dragged him away for the second time.

NaNoWriMo 2010 November 6


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